I would simply like to be forgiven and forgotten. There is no need to remember me. The need is to remember yourself!

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Most of us have a metaphor (Sự liên tưởng, phép ẩn dụ), conscious (có cảm giác, có tri giác) or not, that names our experience of life. Animated by the imagination, one of the most vital powers we possess, our metaphors are more than mirrors to reality — they often become reality, transmuting themselves from language into the living of our lives.

I know people who say, “Life is like a game of chance — some win, some lose.” But that metaphor can create a fatalism about losing or an obsession with beating the odds. I know other people who say, “Life is like a battlefield — you get the enemy, or the enemy gets you.” But that metaphor can result in enemies around every corner and a constant sense of siege. We do well to choose our metaphors wisely.

“Seasons” is a wise metaphor for the movement of life, I think. It suggests that life is neither a battlefield nor a game of chance but something infinitely richer, more promising, more real. The notion that our lives are like the eternal cycle of the seasons does not deny the struggle or the joy, the loss or the gain, the darkness or the light, but encourages us to embrace it all — and to find in all of it opportunities for growth.

If we lived close to nature in an agricultural society, the seasons as metaphor and fact would continually frame our lives. But the master metaphor of our era (kỷ nguyên) does not come from agriculture — it comes from manufacturing. We do not believe that we “grow” our lives — we believe that we “make” them. Just listen to how we use the word in everyday speech: we make time, make friends, make meaning, make money, make a living, make love.

Alan Watts observed that a Chinese child will ask, “How does a baby grow? ” but an American child will ask, “How do you make a baby?” From an early age we absorb our culture’s arrogant conviction that we manufacture everything, reducing the world to mere “raw material” that lacks all value until we impose our designs and labor on it.

If we accept the notion (khái niệm) that our lives are dependent on an inexorable (không thể lay động, không thể thay đổi) cycle of seasons, on a play of powers that we can conspire (mưu phản) with but never control, we run headlong into a culture which insists, against all evidence, that we can make whatever kind of life we want, whenever we want it. Deeper still, we run headlong into our own egos (bản ngả, tự ngã), which want desperately (tuyệt vọng) to believe that we are always in charge.

We need places where people come to challenge and reform the distortions (sự biến dạng, sự thay đổi) of both culture and ego — reform them toward ways of thinking and doing and being that are rooted in respect for the living ecology of life. Unlike “raw material” on which we make all the demands, this ecology (sinh thái học) makes demands on us even as it sustains our lives. We are here not only to transform the world but also to be transformed.

Transformation is difficult, so it is good to know that there is comfort as well as challenge in the metaphor of life as a cycle of seasons. Illumined by that image, we see that we are not alone in the universe. We are participants in a vast communion of being, and if we open ourselves to its guidance, we can learn a new how to live in this great and gracious (courteous, kind, and pleasant) community of truth. We can, and we must — if we want our sciences to be humane, our institutions to be sustaining, our healings to be deep, our lives to be true.

Description

As a QA Engineer, you will bring extensive QA and technical expertise to test our Data and Device Security (DDS) product and other business applications developed with the latest technologies from Microsoft and Java. The successful candidate will be responsible for writing and executing manual and automated test cases as well as specialized testing covering the one or more areas of: UI, API, security, system performance, database testing, network/protocol analysis, and installation/configuration. In addition to test creation/execution the candidate will be involved in designing and extending the test automation framework.

What You’ll Need:

Take an active role in the creation of the project test plan including risk analysis, test strategy, and test scope.

Provide accurate task estimates and status reports.

Review Product requirements/specifications and other technical documentation to ensure testability and completeness

The line graph compared to the consumption of Pizza, Fish and chips, Hamburgers with Australian teenagers between 1975 and 2000.

It is clear that the consumption of fish and chips noticeably declined, whereas the amount of Hamburgers and Pizza that were eaten increased over the period shown.

In 1975, the number of times Australian teenagers ate fish and chips was highest, being eaten 100 times a year. While the figures for Hamburgers and Pizza were lower, approximately 10 times and 5 times respectively a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 1980 to 1985, the consumption of fish and chips gradually declined over 25 year timescale to finish at just under 40 times per year.

In sharp contrast to this, teenagers ate the others two fast foods at much higher levels. Pizza consumption increased gradually until it overtook that of fish and chips in 1990. It then leveled off from 1995 to 2000. The consumption of hamburgers was highest, increasing sharply from 1970’s to 1980’s. The number of times teenagers consumed hamburgers exceed that of fish and chips in 1985. It finished at the same level that fish and chips began, with consumption at 100 times per year.

The line graph compares toproportion of people in three countries who used the internet between 1999 and 2009.

It is clear that the percentage of population who used the internet increased in each country over the period shown. Overall, a much larger of proportion of Americans and Canadians had access to the internetin comparison with Mexican, and Canada experienced the fastest growth in Internet usage.

In 1999, the percentage of internet usage in America was about 20%. The figures for Canada and Mexico were lower, about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2005, the proportion of people using the internet rose to around 70% in both America and Canada, while the figure for Mexico reached just 25%.

By 2009, the percentage of internet users was highest in Canada. Almost 100% Canadians used the internet, compared to about 80% in Americans and only some 40% Mexicans.

Ex: I remembered that he popped the question while we were eating ice cream.

To see eye to eye: To Agree on a subject, totally agree – Ex: My father and I see eye to eye on most things

To settle down: To give up the single life and start a family – Ex: He has never thought about to get married with someone. But everything changed after he met Marry, he love her at first sight. So, he decided to settle down.

To strike up a relationship: Begin a relationship – Ex: She struck a relationship with an artist after she arrived in Paris

To tie the knot: Get married – Ex: She is planing to tie the knot with her German boyfriend next June

To be well matched: to be similar – Ex: My sister and I are similar about many things in life so we are well-matched.

To work at a relationship: to try to maintain a positive relationship with someone Ex: I actually don’t like John but i still work at a relationship.

Who you communicated with and explain why you used a foreign language to communicate on this occasion.

Answer:

Used vocabularies:

The best of my recollection: (expression) If i remember correctly. Example: I was not present at that meeting, to the best of my recollection.

Hanging out (phrase verb): Spending a lot of time at a particular place but doing no special activity. Ex: My friends and I enjoy hanging out at our local coffee shop, just chatting and enjoying a coffee.

Came up to (phrasal verb) Approached. Example: My manager came up to me and shook my hand

Catch everything: (Expression) hear or understand everything that he said. Ex: At the train station, it was too noisy for me to hear all the information clearly, and i was unable to catch everything.

Body language: (Noun) The way that you show what you feel or think by moving your body. Example: Sometimes, our teacher uses body language, not words, to help to communicate an idea.

Headed for: (phrasal verb) Moved in a particular direction. Ex: After the show finished, everyone headed for the exits.

Have a good command of: (expression) Have a good knowledge of something. Example: People apply this job must have a good command of English, in order to communicate with our American customers.

2. The sample answer:

I have been learning English for a long time but i haven’t had many chances to practice English speaking with native speakers. To the best of my recollection that the first i used English to foreigner was on New Year Eve three years old ago.

At that time, I was hanging out with my friends on Nguyen Hue street. Suddenly, a foreigner came up to me and asked for directions to a supermarket. To be honestly, he spoke too quickly for me to catch everything but after he repeated his words, i finally understood and showed him the way to the nearest supermarket. I used body language a lot to explain the direction to him. Since, i didn’t speak English well then. After that, he said “Thank you” to me and headed for the supermarket.

I realize that English plays an important role in our life. Despite the fact that we don’t live in English speaking countries but it is spoken globally and it’s becoming dominant language. Therefore, I have been trying to practice English daily so that i can have a good command of this language, and i can talk confidently with foreigners, whatever the topic of conversation.

– where it is– why you went there– what you ate or drank– and explain why you liked or disliked the café.

If you’ve seen ‘Speaking lesson 4’ in my video course, you will already have some good vocabulary for describing a restaurant and the staff in a restaurant e.g. welcoming, inviting, warm, approachable, attentive, nice atmosphere, make you feel at home… I’m sure we can use some of these words and phrases to describe a café.

P/s: Please notice that you get the speaking part 2 topic from Simon’s IELTS. Before actually referring to Simon’s answer, i will do my own answer first. This is a chance for me to deal with the real test.

Answer:

Useful vocabularies:

Nice atmosphere, warm, approachable, attentive, make you feel at home, head to this place, to get away from it all, quaint old café’, breathtaking view, hoard of people, fall in love, picturesque,

Well, I often go to the café every weekend, which I always head for the café shop is Tuan Ngoc that is in Thu Duc district HCMC where brings nice and warm atmosphere to anyone visiting there. I really love this place because it makes me feel quite relaxed, peaceful and comfortable with the quaint old café. I usually come there alone whenever I want to have time for myself, especially, when i made some important decisions. I probably impressed the taste of iced coffee with milk there, it was absolutely fantastic. Furthermore, the thing made me fall in love were those breathtaking views with three-lined walkways. Just one thing I dislike that some man smoked there, and this makes me uncomfortable at all. Anyway, it is really amazing destination café.